“Even though I was gutted, it is a little bit easier to take because I had done it before.

“I was at Torquay, had treatment and rehab and then went to Bristol Rovers and I bounced back.

“We got promoted and I scored the winning late goal to send us up into League One on the final day which is still a highlight of my career.

“The fact I have come back from it and had three good seasons at Bristol Rovers after a big injury means I have remained positive and hopefully I can do the same and have another good season this year.

“It is about staying positive as sooner or later you will be back.

“You just have to look forward to that and I used to say that to Josh every time.

“The first step was going outside, then getting the balls out, then running as well as twisting and turning and then, before we knew it, we were back training.

“I think if you try and reach those goals you have set every couple of months, you feel like you have achieved something.

“Then we were back in full training before the end of the season and, even though we weren’t involved in any of the games, it felt nice to be back involved.

“I think the fact we did that for the last couple of weeks helped us when we did step in from day one of pre-season as it didn’t feel new.

“I have a bond with Josh now. We were probably in more than the fit lads and, while he used to get on my nerves and annoy me, we have got on well over the injury and we always talk about it.

“The main thing you want to do is get back playing and, when you do, you forget how stressful the last year has been and obviously I am just thankful I am back playing and playing every day while also taking advice off the fitness coach to keep strengthening my knee. It’s where you want to be.”

There’s plenty more from Billy in Saturday’s programme, plus we have a whole host of new features. ‘In His Own Words’ will see a different member of the squad write for the programme each week, starting with goalkeeper Connor Ripley.

We have 11 pages of content about our opponents, including two pages particularly for our younger readers, with a further double-page spread quiz section for them as well. We also get deep into the life and career of a player with our ’20 questions’, Paul Gallagher in the hot seat.

For those who like a bit of history, we have features from a century ago with Ian Rigby, a look back at our history as we close in on 5,000 league games and a special scrapbook feature, that this week features Tony Philliskirk.

All this and so much more in our perfect bound, 84-page edition of The One And Only, on sale for still just £3 from the ticket office and sellers around the ground on matchday. So, don’t miss out on yours.

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